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Saber Marionette J (Collection 2) Review

On this DVD you can find episodes 10 to 17 of Saber Marionette J. Saber Marionette consists of Saber Marionette J (TV series, 25 episodes), Saber Marionette J Again (OVA, or direct-to-video release, 6 episodes) and Saber Marionette J to X (TV series, 25 episodes plus one "special" episode, not aired on Japanese TV but instead released as an OVA).

The first few episodes in this DVD will show you how the adventures in Gartlant turned out. The middle episodes allow for some fun to be had, and some character development for Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry and Otaru. In episodes 15, 16 and 17, Saber Marionette J starts the turn from funny, light comedy, to serious, heavy-hitting drama. But not an "overdone" drama, there are always funny moments, especially with Hanagata.

What I've always like the most of Saber Marionette J, and what makes it my all-time favorite (followed only, and very closely, by Saber Marionette J to X... and J Again but not as close) are the "serious", dramatic episodes. I'm a very emotional person, and there is nothing I've seen on any other anime series as beautiful and tear inducing as the last episodes of Saber Marionette J. Most of those episodes will be on DVD Collection 3, but on Collection 2, the change can be felt. You'll get to understand some of the characters a great deal more... After you've seen some of these episodes, go back to Collection 1, and watch carefully... I bet you'll see some things you hadn't noticed before...

As for nudity, as with Saber Marionette in general, there is almost none. Well... there's only one moment when you'll get to see Otaru naked, but from the back, but it's a VERY funny moment, and it's not done in an "improper" way. Oh... and you'll see Bloodberry with not that much clothes on, for about 10 seconds, but again, is not done in an "offending" way, and is all in good fun. The "rating" for Saber Marionette is "13 and Up", I believe, but I myself would show it to anyone... Parts of the plot may be hard to understand for the very little ones, but I'm sure they'll like everything else.

As for the DVD, the quality is great. The picture quality is crystal-clear. Contrary to what happened with Collection 1, I've yet to hear of problems with DVD players failing to play the discs correctly. My brother tried it on his Playstation 2, and he told me it worked OK. I've had no problems whatsoever on my computer's DVD player.

This time around, you'll get as an extra a music video of Cherry. The music used for the video is the ending song "I'll be there". Like with Lime's video, turn-on the subtitles and pump up the volume!!! The video is very nicely done.

If by strange circumstances, you still don't have Collection 1, I'll tell you that the Saber Marionette DVD is trilingual and the voice acting in general is very nicely done. The languages are Japanese, English and Spanish. I've listened to all of the audio tracks and like them all. My favorite is the Spanish track. If you understand Spanish, let me tell you that Saber Marionette's Spanish dub is one of the best Spanish dubs I've ever heard. Totally cool. However, all audio tracks are well done.

If you already own Saber Marionette J DVD Collection 1, you probably will buy this one. I've seen all of the episodes already, and you won't regret getting Collection 2. If you don't already have Collection 1... Why not? Saber Marionette J is a great anime!!!

Saber Marionette J (Collection 2) Overview

The bizarre premise of this fan-favorite anime TV series gave it plenty of room to grow, leaving behind the mildly suggestive sitcom farce of its early episodes in favor of real suspense and imaginative science fiction extrapolation, elements that come increasingly to the fore in this second set of eight episodes. After wrapping up the first phase of the Japoness versus Garlant story arc elaborated in the first collection, our goof-ball hero Otaru and his nubile robot companions take a breather and confront some pressing personal issues. The most important new wrinkle is the budding humanity of Otaru's three love-struck "marionettes," Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry, experimental models outfitted with emotion-generating "maiden circuits." We now learn that these bio-engineered circuits have the capacity to learn and evolve, perhaps toward full-fledged human autonomy. It is suggested that with their help the all-male human settlements on Terra 2 (which for generations have been sustained only by cloning) may finally be able to reproduce again the old-fashioned way; in time they could even overcome the stagnant nostalgia that has turned every society on the planet into a retro theme-park copy of a dimly remembered Old Earth original. Presumably we'll have to wait for the next collection to learn if this promise of rebirth ever comes fully to fruition. Don't touch that dial! --David Chute

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Labels: Collection, Marionette